Textual analysis of film poster of Just like Heaven

Textual analysis of film poster of Just Like Heaven (2005)

Looking at all the elements of a textual analysis I will look at what genre the film is and who it is targeted towards. The movie, ‘just like heaven’ is directed by Marc Waters. The photo is taken as a mid long shot as a birds eye view and that gives the connotation of them looking into heaven which is linked with the title of the film “Just like heaven”. In the shot you can see two people lying on a field full of orange Gerbera and yellow sun flowers which connotes cheerfulness and in general flowers connote love and are seen as very feminine. The movie is targeted at women, as it is clear that it is going to be linked to a love story and to make it even more worth a watch the movie is starred by very Attractive actors, as the protagonist, Reese Witherspoon is known for romances often linked to comedy.

The focus of the poster lies on the women that is framed in a mid long shot compared to the man who you can only see belly button upwards, therefore the focus of the poster is upon the women as she is the protagonist. Their arms are raised and their hands are closely together but not touching which shows that they have a connection to each other which also suggest that there is hurdle that they have to overcome and which is preventing them to be together, the “almost” touching of the hands makes the audience question if they will ever be able to hold hands. The man is wearing a casual black shirt and the women is more dressed up, in a long skirt and a white top. Both of them are looking up but the man seems very happy and is smiling, which could mean that he is in heaven, because he likes her and as we use the word heaven when something is very good, eg. When you are wearing something very soft, ‘this feels like heaven’, he could mean it linked to their relationship. They are looking directly at the audience, which makes the audience engaged. The lighting is very bright which makes the flowers stand out even more in contrast to the two people whose dark plain clothes stand out. The mans outfit is a big contrast to his facial expression, which is very happy, his black clothing could indicate that he is more of a dark character. There is a tagline, which says “love will bring you back”, this tagline in association with the title “just like heaven” could indicate a fairy-tale linked plot eg. Sleeping beauty, she could maybe be awaking from something deathlike, through the love that is found within the man that she is almost touching. There could be a double meaning in “just like heaven”, because one of them could actually be in heaven but somehow they fall in love and one of them tries to bring the other one back to life- ‘love will bring you back’.